An explosion of water heralded the Dragon Emperor's arrival onto the island of Egghead, yet none bore witness to it or him since there wasn't a living being anywhere near the coast. Though there were a few robots present, but all they did was passively scan Alex before returning to their duties.
Ignoring the lack of life, Alex readily made his way towards the main lab in the center of the island where the scientist Vegapunk should be, along with Lala. But, the closer he got to the center of the island, the more people he could sense in hiding as they watched him go by warily. Seeing as they were ALL World Government stooges though, he just ignored them as well.
Instead, Alex focused on all of the different machines and contraptions around as he wandered the island, each of which appeared interesting to him, but not nearly as much as they would've if it wasn't for Alex spending time around Lala and the Bulmas. And when he finally reached the main lab, Alex was unsurprised to find Lala darting every which way excitedly as she examined everything she could.
"Hey Lala. Having fun?" He asked with a wry smile, drawing the former princess' attention as she cried out,
"Alex!"
Alex was then treated to an excited hug that smothered his face in her breasts briefly, before she released him and continued, "This place is so amazing! There's so many cool gadgets and toys and stuff! Come look!"
Lala then started dragging Alex through the different areas of the lab to show him all the interesting things she had found, though Alex couldn't help but to wonder where the actual owner of the lab was.
Well, his unasked question was soon answered as they explored the lab, and found a weird-looking man curled up in the fetal position on the metallic ground, sobbing uncontrollably in an ugly manner.
"What was it all for...?"
"Why dedicate my life to innovation?!?"
"How could I be so arrogant?!?!?!?!"
Without a single word, Alex looked at Lala as if he was demanding an answer for the weird old man's current state, to which she shrugged before saying,
"I don't know why he's like that. After looking around for a bit I showed him some of my toys as well, and he ended up like that after looking at them for a few minutes."
Alex had to resist the urge to face-palm at Lala's actions, as obviously she had caused this due to her ability to ignore the laws of physics whenever she wanted. As Hajime, Azazel, the two Bulmas, Irene, and so many more have long since realized, it was literally IMPOSSIBLE to outdo Lala when it came to innovation. There was a reason Alex gave her the Gasha Gasha no Mi over anyone else that could've used the fruit.
Shaking his head at Lala's accidental ability to destroy the confidence of other inventors, Alex turned his attention towards the man and asked, "Are you Vegapunk?"
The old man just barely focused his eyes on Alex due to his voice, before his empty expression sharpened as he jumped to his feet to allow Alex a proper look at him.
Old man Vegapunk was....unique to look at to say the least. Aside from looking like a typical old man, he had a long tongue that dangled down past his waist, and apple-like cap on top of his head that had a stem like an antenna.
"Indeed, I am Vegapunk." He answered, before asking in return, "And you, you are the white warrior!?"
"White warrior?"
"Yes! The warrior of liberation who is always smiling, and puts smiles on the faces of those around them! The sun god, Nika!"
Alex smiled wryly at the titles he was given, before replying, "Yes and no. I did eat the Hito Hito no Mi: model Nika, but I don't really smile all the time or put a smile on everyone's faces."
"Semantics." Vegapunk waved away Alex's protests, before turning and walking away while gesturing to follow him this time.
"Many years ago I ate the Nomi Nomi no Mi, the brain Devil Fruit, which allows my brain to expand infinitly with any and all new knowledge. There is nothing I don't desire to learn, no matter how illegal or taboo, so long as it doesn't go against my own moral code.
"After the fall of Ohara that also expanded to include the Void Century and the secrets that the World Government doesn't want the world to know. Though I have to be careful since it would mean my death if they were to find out, despite my usefulness to them with my technology."
Pausing his explanation briefly, Vegapunk began hitting a few buttons on a monitor until the image appeared of a large and ancient looking robot.
"This robot for example, I am almost certain belonged to a powerful ancient civilization, one that the World Government refuses to acknowledge. However no matter what I try, I can not get it to activate since it seems to use a power source unlike anything we have in the world today!"
Alex ran his gaze over the ancient robot curiously, before turning his attention back to the scientist.
"So you don't just blindly follow the World Government?" Alex asked curiously, earning him the most offended look possible from Vegapunk.
"Are you kidding?! The ONLY reason I work with them is because thats where the money is! Innovation cannot exist without funds you know!"
"Is that so?" Alex asked with a devilish smile.
"What is that look for?" Vegapunk asked him warily.
"Oh nothing~." Alex said in a sing-song voice, as he debated taking Vegapunk on a tour of his vaults before asking him to join Asora.
Before he could though, Alex suddenly sensed something that caught his attention in another part of the lab. Something that made him give a weird look to the old man before he went to investigate.
In one of the side rooms of the lab, Alex found several figures tied up and hanging from ceiling in turtle-shell bondage style with ball-gags in their mouths. Including three people that Alex hadn't been expecting here.
"..."
Cocking a brow at the scientist, Vegapunk hurriedly put his hands up as he stated, "It wasn't me! The World Government sent them, and your wife dealt with them for me! I mean, do you think I of all people would be able to detain TWO Admirals AND one of the Five Elders like that?"
Alex remained silent as he looked back at the captive group, which contained both Admiral Akainu and Aokiji, as well as one of the Five Elders. Though Alex wasn't sure which one exactly.
"That is Saint Jaygarcia Saturn, Warrior God of Science and Defense. He spearheads all of the World Government's scentific development, and is my primary contact when speaking directly to the Five Elders." Vegapunk supplied helpfully, to which Alex just nodded slowly in affirmation.
"So does that mean he's the one who authorized Bartholomew Kuma being turned into a weapon?"
"!!!"
Though surprised by Alex's question, Vegapunk nodded slowly as he explained,
"Kuma brought Bonney to me to be cured of her disease, which was something only I could do in the entire world. But I didn't realize we were being monitored, and the only way I was allowed to treat Bonney was if Kuma swore himself to the service of the World Government as one of the Seven Warlords, allowed himself to be turned into a human weapon, and had all of his free will erased along with his memories."
Vegapunk then adopted a look of regret and self-loathing as he continued,
"I tried to refuse to comply to their demands, but Kuma insisted since it was the only way to help Bonney. Never before have I met a man so selfless and determined to help others... Even though it basically meant his death, Kuma had tears pouring down his face from how happy he was that Bonney would be saved!"
Alex nodded slowly as he listened to Vegapunk recount how Bonney was cured of her disease, and why Kuma had allowed himself to be turned into a weapon. It was pretty much exactly what Alex already expected based off of Bonney's own words, but now he had the full story from one of the adults directly involved.
When he had finished speaking, Alex turned his attention back to Saturn with a dark look in his eyes. Saturn however just stared back with an intense look, as if all of this were merely a mild inconvenience to him.
"Well?" Alex asked as he removed the ball-gag from his mouth, giving the Elder a chance to explain himself.
"A god need not explain himself to a mere ant." Saturn sneered back at him though, making Alex nod slowly as he digested everything he had heard before stuffing the ball-gag back into his mouth.
"How did they get here so fast?" Alex suddenly asked no one in particular, as he knew all three Admirals were in Mary Geoise the night before. However Lala readily explained,
"They used a magic circle to get here!"
"?!?"
"They can use magic circles?!" Alex exclaimed, not at all expecting that answer.
"Yep! But it's kinda weird compared to the ones we use."
Making a 'follow me' gesture as she said that, Lala and Vegapunk directed Alex to the space outside where he could sense faint remnants of demonic energy, while he also made the captured Admirals and government people follow as they floated along behind him.
"Interesting..." Alex muttered as he examined the energy, finding it to be weaker and impure compared to the demonic energy he was used to.
He then used Regeneration magic to recreate the magic circle, causing the remnant demonic energies to explode in intensity along with thick waves of Haki.
Alex analyzed every single detail of the magic circle as it awaited it's use, both fascinated and disappointed with it.
After consuming the soul of Hermaeus Mora, Alex gained a divinity of Knowledge, which also came with every single scrap of knowledge that had been collected and hoarded in Apocrypha ever since it's creation. And even after that, the Seekers that called Apocrypha home, and now served Alex, were ceaselessly exploring each of the new worlds they had access to, DXD, Earthland, Tortus, Danmachi, Rosario Vampire, Spira, and now One Piece, for any and all knowledge they could find.
Even as he analyzed the magic circle before him, Alex easily recalled at least a hundred or so magic circles that readily surpassed this one in similar function and form. The only thing impressive about this magic circle was the use of Haki alongside demonic energy.
This made Alex consider the apparently different uses of Haki beyond what he already knew about, but at the moment he had more important things to think about.
"I'll be back in a bit. Just gonna go take out the trash and have a bit of a chat." Alex told Lala, who replied,
"Ok, have fun~! I'm gonna play around here a bit more!"
Resisting the urge to roll his eyes at Lala's idea of 'playing', which in turn made Vegapunk get a vacant look, Alex passed through the magic circle along with his captives. In an instant, Alex found himself in the middle of the most heavily defended and secure place in this world, Mary Geoise.
"Hello." He casually said to those who were present, the other four of the Five Elders, Fleet Admiral Sengoku, the still wounded Kizaru, and Garp.
"""..."""
For a second none of them reacted as they all stared blankly at Alex and his captives, before hell broke loose.
Moving before anyone else, one of the Elders shot forward with his hands on the hilt of his sword to draw it in a single swift movement. Time seemed to slow as the blade was unsheathed, flashing in the light as it sailed in an arc directly for Alex's throat, before slicing clean through it to remove his head from his shoulders.
"""!!!"""
Stunned silence permeated the room as the Dragon Emperor's head fell to the floor with a thump, leaving all of them surprised at the sudden end.
"Humph!" Snorted the Elder who had cut his head off.
"I suppose an ant will always be an ant." Another Elder sneered in contempt.
"Even an ant can turn into a problem." The third stated as Sengoku and Garp began to free the two Admirals and Saturn from the bindings.
"True. Now we need to deal with the mess he has caused us." Said a third, already putting the matter of the Dragon Emperor out of their minds.
"Really? And here I thought things were just getting good!" Came a voice none of them had ever heard before, prompting them all to turn back at the corpse of the Dragon Emperor. Or perhaps it was premature to refer to it as a corpse.
Though his head was no longer attached, Alex was still alive and well as he stood there in his original place with his head on the floor. Except his head was looking up at them, and just now they were realizing there was no blood to accompany the usually deadly wound.
"Man is that sword SHARP! Or does it just seem like that since I've never had my head cut off before?" Alex mused despite his current situation, seemingly oblivious to the deathly angry looks he was receiving.
"How is this possible?" Sengoku snarled as he prepared to fight, awaiting only the order from the elders.
"Well it's a long and arduous tale, full of danger, intrigue, and most of all, love." Alex began in a serious voice, making all of those gathered pause as they awaited his explanation.
"I ate the Bara Bara no Mi."
*CRASH!*
Everyone present comically fell to the ground at Alex's explanation, which wasn't long, dangerous, or anything else he said it would be. Instead it was stupidly short, and frankly impossible.
"That can't be! If you ate the Bara Bara no Mi, then there's no way you could have also eaten the Hito Hito no Mi: model Nika!" Exclaimed one of the Elders irritably.
"Actually, there is since I can eat as many Devil Fruits as I want." Alex readily said, stunning all of those gathered.
NO ONE could eat more than one Devil Fruit. It was a rule that EVERYONE knew all over the world.
To eat a second Devil Fruit was tantamount to commiting suicide via arrogance.
"Impossible." Saturn snarled at Alex, knowing this better than most due to the extensive research he had personally done into the subject.
"Not for me. I've already eaten the Hito Hito no Mi, Bara Bara no Mi, and the Suke Suke no Mi." Alex told them, displaying the abilties of all three fruits for them to give credence to his words.
As he was doing so though, every single person was thinking the exact same thing as they recalled what was reported about Alex after he sacked Impel Down. He was able to remove a person's Devil Fruit power.
If both of these things were true, then Alex was capable of cherry-picking whatever Devil Fruit he wanted, and however many he wanted by taking them from those who had already eaten them. But on the other hand, if they could capture and study Alex, then it was possible for the World Government to obtain a monopoly on Devil Fruits as well.
They could not let this chance go!
"Can you be any more obvious?" Alex suddenly asked them in a bored tone, obviously knowing what they were planning due to his divinity over plots and schemes. And if he were being honest, the fact that they looked down on everything as 'gods', even when it was obvious they were outclassed, was getting old.
"Listen, the ONLY reason I'm here is to tell you guys to knock your shit off. Instead of targetting my wife for visiting Egghead, or going after Hancock for 'betraying' you, focus on gathering your full strength for the attack. Trust me, you're going to need it."
"Such hubris." One of the Elders that Alex didn't know the name of said in a regretful tone, as if he felt sorry for Alex's 'arrogance' in going against the 'gods'.
Alex rolled his eyes in his disembodied head at their continued perception that they were stronger than him, while his body cracked it's knuckles as they prepared to get down to business.
He wasn't going to kill them here, that had to wait until his planned attack. But he WOULD beat their asses and show them just how insignificant they truly were.
***
"Is this truly ok?" Vegapunk asked worriedly for the umpteenth time since Alex left with the captives.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Lala asked without looking up from the newest piece of machinery she was examining.
"What if he ends up in a Marine base or something? Or even right in the middle of the Holy Land itself!?!"
With each word Vegapunk was increasing his anxiety and worry over Alex's well being, despite him being the husband of the powerful and stupifying Lala.
Even the most powerful beings had their limits. And even if Alex was THE strongest person in the world, numbers tended to overwhelm even those who held such titles.
Despite Lala's casualness, Vegapunk couldn't help but to continue worrying about the Dragon Emperor as she continued exploring his lab and going through the various plans he had drafted for future projects. Among them was even a plan Vegapunk drafted to create numerous bodies, or 'satellites', that would be connected to the brain that he'd had to remove due to it's increasingly cumbersome size. An unfortunate side-effect of eating the Nomi Nomi no Mi.
Of course it would take him a while to implement such a project until it's completion, but once it was Vegapunk was convinced the amount of projects he'd be able to work on would skyrocket due to the number of RELIABLE hands going up. As of now, he didn't trust any of the stooges the World Government sent him, especially since they had a habit of being a liability instead of help.
But right there before Vegapunk's eyes, Lala readily drafted her own set of blueprints for the concept on the spot that would allow him to complete the project in a few days, compared to the year or two he originally needed. He would've been depressed all over again if he wasn't so amazed by the plans Lala drafted for him. Though they did call for a couple things he didn't have access to, like something called Spirit and Alteration magic.
"Have you worked on a similar project in the past?" Vegapunk asked her curiously, his earlier concern momentarily forgotten in the face of his amazement.
"No. If I need help in my lab my sister usually gives me a hand, or I just make more of myself for a little bit." Lala answered casually, confusing Vegapunk until Lala split herself using Spirit Control until there were a dozen or so hers standing there.
"What in the world!?!" Vegapunk exclaimed in shock, before the Lalas all scattered to explore even more of his lab faster. All except one that is, the original, who stayed with Vegapunk in case she needed to ask him some questions. But it was Vegapunk who desperately wanted to ask her the questions instead.
While trying to keep up with Lala's insatiable curiosity, Vegapunk quickly lost track of time while the worries about Alex faded to the back of his mind. Or rather, he wasn't given time to worry about the Dragon Emperor thanks to Lala, who still appeared unconcerned about the situation.
This continued until the sun began to set, as there were just THAT MANY different interesting things for Lala to explore on Egghead, even after a full night of doing the same. Then again, she DID have to fight two Admirals and one of the Five Elders at one point.
Just recalling the demonic spider-like form Saturn had taken was enough to make Vegapunk shudder, yet Lala still took him down like he was nothing.
"Something wrong?"
"Just recalling the ability saint Saturn displayed last night..."
"Yeah? It wasn't that tough though?"
"Maybe not to you... But to the rest of us..."
"..."
"!!!"
It was only then that Vegapunk realized that the one he had been talking to was none other than Alex, who had reappeared out of nowhere and seemed no worse for the wear.
"Where did you go!?!" Vegapunk readily demanded upon realizing who he had been speaking to.
"I just went to have a chat with the rest of the Elders, all three of the Admirals, the Fleet Admiral, and Garp the Hero. They've agreed to not do anything stupid until it's time for the attack in a few days." Alex explained, stupifying Vegapunk as he thought about those stubborn and blockheaded Elders, and making him wonder just what Alex did to make them listen.
"Enough about that though." Alex added, waving away Vegapunk's growing curiosity before asking him, "So, how would you like to come work for me in Asora?"
***
"This is worse than we thought..."
"""..."""
Silence permeated the room after Saint Saturn voiced his opinion, none daring to speak after what the chaos they had just experienced.
They, the most powerful combatants in the entire Navy and World Government, had ALL attacked the Dragon Emperor as one, and he had completely and utterly wiped the floor with them.
The worst part was that it had been painfully obvious that he never took them seriously as they all fought, instead bouncing his disembodied, and sometimes invisible, body parts around the room at them in a completely random pattern while the entire room rippled and shook from the chaotic power of Nika. All while dancing and singing about his head turning right round.
And all of this was done without using the true awakened powers of ANY of his three Devil Fruits, or his true strength.
"I can't remember the last time I actually felt outclassed by an opponent like that..." Garp uttered bitterly as he recalled the fight. But as he did so there was something bugging him, why were Alex's Nika powers so similar to his grandson's?
"It is worrying indeed..." Sengoku muttered while looking between Garp and the three Admirals. Even if the latter was known as the ultimate power of the Marines, it was no real secret that Garp was still stronger than all three. And yet none of that had mattered to their opponent.
"Regardless of how strong he is, now we have an idea what to expect." Said another of the Elders, the one who had cut Alex's head off previously, Saint Ethanbaron V. Musjuro.
"Indeed. Knowledge is the greatest weapon, and now we can better formulate a plan to destroy Nika once and for all." Declared Saint Topman Warcury, the Godhead of Justice.
As soon as the words left his mouth, the door opened as an elderly looking man with his hair and beard forming a crescent-moon shape with spikes on the side entered.
"I was called?" The man asked in a tone that barely contained the respect demanded by the Five Elders, even of the Celestial Dragons.
"Indeed, Saint Figarland Garling. We have need of the God's Knights in the coming battle against the Dragon Emperor." Warcury explained, though leaving out they had already been thoroughly defeated by said Dragon Emperor.
"I see... Perhaps I can finally face a worthy opponent." Garling sneered as he grasped the hilt of his saber in anticipation.